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Chocolate hazelnut spread (aka nutella)

The last few weeks have been a little nutty (pun intended!), in more ways than one. I am very grateful to say that the world of Thermomix has been crazy busy thanks to many of you wanting this amazing tool in your own kitchen. Unfortunately that has meant less time for recipe development and trying new things. I have soooo many ideas to share with you all but that illusive little thing called “time” keeps running away from me.

The latest thing in the Food 4 Thought kitchen is that for some reason I seem to have been slightly addicted to recipes with hazelnuts. Maybe it is because I am starting to explore the world of Paleo in the Thermomix. While this recipe doesn’t comply with the Paleo philosophy it is a great option for families that want to be able to make something that would normally have a LOT of sugar, preservatives and other things you may not want to eat.

This is my “adult version” because I use good quality dark chocolate, Dutch cocoa and very little sugar. You can adjust it to suit your palate. I really encourage you to make it rather than buy it, because this is delicious.

Preparation
Place raw sugar into TM bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 9. Add hazelnuts and chocolate and mill for 20 seconds on speed 8. Scrape around the sides of the bowl. Add cocoa, butter and milk, heat on 50°C for 3 minutes on speed 3.

My tips/alterations: *If you would like this less “adult” you can leave the cocoa out and use 50% cocoa chocolate. It won’t be quite as thick but will set well in the fridge. *You can purchase hazelnuts that have the skins removed already. Get these from health food stores or bulk food stores. *If you would like to roast your own, place them on an oven tray and in a pre-heated oven at 170°C for 10 – 12 minutes. The skins should look like they are falling off. Remove them from the oven and pour them into a tea towel. Rub them firmly, the skins should come off and you can remove the hazelnuts. *Before you clean out the bowl, add 1 cup of milk, mix on speed 4, then turbo for 5 seconds. This will clean the machine and make a chocolate milk at the same time. If you want it warm just heat it for a few minutes. *Use this on toast, in crepes or stirred into hot milk. You can even make these great muffins.

would I make it again: Absolutely. I have been caught with “my hand in the cookie jar” or rather a spoon in the hazelnut chocolate spread jar. Needless to say this doesn’t last too long in our house. 🙂